Chapter 554

14th morning.

Yan Zhusheng woke early from her bedroom, blinked her eyes to clear her mind, then sat up and stretched.

She rolled out of bed, stepped out of her room, and walked straight toward Li Luo's room out of habit.

Pushing open the bedroom door at the end of the hallway, Yan Zhusheng stepped inside and saw Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu asleep beside Li Luo; she squinted slightly.

She went to the foot of the bed, kicked off her slippers, and quietly climbed onto the bed, pulling back the edge of the blanket and slipping her head inside.

Then the blanket began to bulge from Li Luo's feet, slowly creeping upward.

Just as Yan Zhusheng reached halfway up, Li Luo woke up.

His hand beneath the blanket instinctively reached down and seized the intruder.

He looked left and right; he had thought it might be Xu Youyu playing a prank, but saw Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu both sleeping soundly, and immediately realized who had slipped into his bed.

"Zhusheng, what are you—wait!" Li Luo broke off mid-sentence, hissed sharply, then quickly grabbed Yan Zhusheng's hands and pulled her up from under the blanket.

Yan Zhusheng was forced out of her hiding place, her cheeks flushed—whether from shyness or just from being stifled, it was hard to tell.

"What's wrong?" Yan Zhusheng leaned against Li Luo's chest, tilted her head up, and looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Didn't you tell me to touch?"

"When did I say you could touch?" Li Luo snapped.

"Then why did you suddenly grab my head?" Yan Zhusheng blinked, then suddenly looked enlightened. "Was it not for me to use my hands…?"

"Shut up," Li Luo interrupted flatly. "You've read too many of Youyu's books. Don't pick up everything blindly."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently, then asked curiously, "Is it uncomfortable?"

Li Luo: "... Time to get up. After morning run, you still have class with your private tutor, right?"

After abruptly ending the previous topic, Li Luo quickly shook Ying Chanxi awake.

Ying Chanxi had been planning to snuggle into Li Luo's arms after waking, hoping for a good-morning kiss, but turned her head and saw Yan Zhusheng lying atop him—her mood vanished instantly.

She wasn't one of those two close sisters; she couldn't possibly kiss Li Luo right in front of the other two.

She still had some dignity to maintain.

Thinking this, Ying Chanxi quietly huffed and pulled back the blanket to get out of bed.

Just as she slipped on her slippers, she saw Yan Zhusheng kiss Li Luo; Ying Chanxi clenched her fists.

The Doraemon sitting on the bedside table, for some reason, broke into a cold sweat, then slightly relaxed.

Meanwhile, Pikachu, left behind in Ying Chanxi's own bedroom, felt a chill down his back and sensed something was wrong.

Soon, the three of them got up, washed up, changed clothes, and went downstairs for a ten-minute morning run.

After breakfast, Li Luo packed a portion for Xu Youyu in the bedroom, then saw Yan Zhusheng off with Ying Chanxi before returning to Bihai Lanting.

It was barely seven o'clock; Li Luo carried breakfast in hand, strolled slowly back to his room, pulled a chair beside the bed, and tried to wake the sleeping Xu Youyu.

"Youyu, breakfast is ready," Li Luo said softly. "Don't you have an early eight o'clock class today?"

His words had no effect, so he tried another approach: "Your roommate seems to be reading your novel."

"What?!" Xu Youyu, upon hearing this, reacted as if a switch had been flipped—she sat bolt upright in bed.

Only when she saw the breakfast on the chair and Li Luo's smiling face did she realize what had happened.

"You're insane!" Xu Youyu grumbled, sticking her foot out from under the blanket and kicking Li Luo's thigh. "Can't you come up with a new trick? All you ever do is scare people."

"A technique doesn't need to be new—just effective," Li Luo chuckled, holding open the plastic bag and pulling out the breakfast. "Eat up, wash up, and you'll be ready for class."

"Ugh…" Hearing she still had to attend early eight, Xu Youyu sighed heavily, wishing only to reach the elective registration phase and escape early classes as soon as possible.

After breakfast, Li Luo dragged Xu Youyu out of bed, helped her wash up and change clothes, and she set off for class with a resigned expression, heading to her classroom to meet her roommates.

As for Li Luo and Ying Chanxi…

"I'm ready," Ying Chanxi said, stepping out of her bedroom after hearing the door close behind Xu Youyu.

The season was autumn, but autumn in Yuhang City was barely noticeable; today's temperature still hovered around twenty degrees.

So Ying Chanxi wore a warm white long-sleeve top, layered with a light, sheer short outer drape.

Below, she wore light blue jeans, white socks, and a cute little pouch slung at her waist.

Today, Ying Chanxi had deliberately tied her hair into a bun, revealing her slender, snow-white neck—she looked fresh and bright as she stood before Li Luo.

"You look beautiful," Li Luo said, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear with a smile.

"You should change your clothes too," Ying Chanxi said, seeing he still wore his morning running outfit; she took his hand and led him into his room, rummaging through his wardrobe.

Finally, she picked out an autumn outfit she had bought for him before, dressed him to perfection, nodded in satisfaction, and clapped her hands. "Alright, let's go~"

The two left Bihai Lanting and took a taxi to Yintai Mall.

The mall had just opened; it was Friday morning, and there were almost no customers—they essentially had the entire mall to themselves.

Ying Chanxi held Li Luo's hand, swinging it happily back and forth.

Rarely could she go out alone with Li Luo for a date and shopping; her mood was exceptionally bright, and she wanted to peek into every men's clothing store they passed.

She'd pick out clothes she liked, hold them against Li Luo, make him try them on, treating him like a living mannequin.

Li Luo stood one meter eighty tall, with years of consistent exercise making his body lean, strong, and youthful; paired with his handsome face, he looked good in anything.

Honestly, in his past life, Li Luo never thought he was particularly good-looking; looking in the mirror, he'd just think he wasn't ugly, and from some angles, maybe a little decent.

But after reincarnation, he didn't know if it was money that improved him, confidence, or simply the advantages of a young, well-exercised body.

His face was still the same, yet now it looked undeniably handsome.

Ying Chanxi unleashed her full fashion sense on Li Luo's mannequin form; by the end of the morning, she hadn't looked at many of her own outfits—she'd spent the entire time buying clothes for him.

If Li Luo hadn't stopped her, she would've bought far more than just three outfits.

The girl stubbornly refused to let Li Luo pay—she used the pocket money her father, Ying Zhicheng, gave her.

In the past, Ying Zhicheng's allowance to Ying Chanxi was mostly saved; she spent only the bare minimum on daily needs.

Given Ying Zhicheng's nature, he never stinted on material or financial support for Ying Chanxi.

So in a sense, Ying Chanxi's pocket money made her practically a small fortune in Fuyi Middle School.

Buying a few sets of clothes for Li Luo is nothing. She genuinely enjoys spending money on him—had Li Luo paid himself, she wouldn't have been nearly as happy.

It's like a puppy marking its territory at a street corner.

When Ying Chanxi spent her own money to buy Li Luo new clothes, it was as if she was marking him as her own.

It gave her a special sense of satisfaction, as if doing so made Li Luo truly belong to her.

After finishing their morning shopping and having the stores ship the clothes to Bihai Lanting, they went to the fourth floor for lunch.

In the afternoon, they watched a movie at the cinema, then Li Luo accompanied Ying Chanxi as she continued browsing clothing stores, picking out several nice outfits for her.

After dinner outside in the evening, the two walked hand in hand along the riverbank.

By the time they returned to Bihai Lanting, it was already past nine at night.

Yan Zhusheng was practicing piano in the piano room.

Xu Youyu was staying overnight in the dormitory and wouldn't be going home tonight.

!

After returning home, Ying Chanxi went to take a shower, while Li Luo returned to his bedroom to start writing.

Over the next two days, Li Luo mostly spent his time accompanying Ying Chanxi as she played around.

The next day, he took her to the amusement park; on Sunday, they visited the zoo.

In their free evenings, they filmed plenty of MV footage, and Li Luo was subtly exploited by Director Ying several times.

By Monday the 17th, given the joy of the past three days, Ying Chanxi no longer held it against Li Luo for wanting to accompany Xu Youyu and her roommate to the concert.

So after asking for leave from their homeroom teacher Kong Jun, Li Luo finished his last afternoon class, said goodbye to Ying Chanxi, and prepared to leave campus to meet Xu Youyu.

As for Yan Zhusheng, to attend Yuan Wanqing's concert, she had taken the entire day off for rehearsal and was already at the Huanglong Sports Center.

"Why did both Li Luo and Zhusheng take the day off?" Qiao Xinyan asked Ying Chanxi, looking puzzled over dinner in the cafeteria.

"Aunt Yuan is holding a concert here today, and Zhusheng is going on stage to sing," Ying Chanxi explained. "As for Li Luo… he promised to take his senior's roommate to the concert, so he took leave too."

"Then why didn't you take leave and go with them?" Qiao Xinyan asked with a smile.

"I have to study," Ying Chanxi huffed. "Don't ask so much—just eat your food."

On this side, Ying Chanxi continued with her evening self-study.

On that side, Li Luo had returned to Bihai Lanting, changed out of his school uniform, and put on the new clothes Ying Chanxi had bought him a few days ago.

Soon after, Li Luo received a call from Xu Youyu, asking him to meet at Chuan Yu Lao Huoguo—they were already having dinner there.

So after changing into his new clothes, Li Luo walked over and found Xu Youyu and the other five at his family's hot pot restaurant.

Although they were still eating here today, Song Yu insisted on treating them and refused to let Li Luo's family restaurant bear the cost—he had already paid the bill outright.

After all, in Song Yu's eyes, if Li Luo hadn't generously treated them to Yuan Wanqing's concert, his little Ya might now be attending the concert with Minister Yan Yishan!

Such a great favor must be repaid!

Thus, Song Yu grew even more respectful and deferential toward Li Luo, nearly wanting to enshrine his beloved Senior Li Luo.

Li Luo said nothing about Song Yu's insistence on paying—after all, the money was already paid; returning it would only embarrass Song Yu, and there was no point.

After sitting down beside Xu Youyu, Li Luo joined them for hot pot.

Jiang Feiya, noticing it was already half past five, reminded them: "Should we head out early?"

"I heard the queue for the concert is extremely long—we'll need half an hour to get there, and ticket checking starts exactly at six."

"If we're late, we'll have to wait in line for ages."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu waved her hand, signaling everyone to keep eating: "No problem—Li Luo's family has connections; we can just use the VIP entrance and skip the line."

"What does Li Luo's family do? So influential?" Zhao Letian exclaimed, astonished. "You don't even have to queue?"

"My family runs a hot pot restaurant—what else do you think you're eating right now?" Li Luo laughed. "It's just that the company my uncle works for has a partnership with Yuan Wanqing's studio. Besides, front-row inner-circle tickets already have VIP entrances—even if you had to queue, it wouldn't be long."

Everyone accepted his explanation without doubt.

Jiang Feiya was merely curious about the company Li Luo's uncle worked for.

But she only thought about it, asking no further questions.

Then, at that moment, Song Yu suddenly realized something and timidly asked: "Um… how are you all getting there?"

"I drove," Xu Youyu said. "I can give you a ride… uh…"

Mid-sentence, Xu Youyu realized a problem, glancing at Song Yu, then at Jiang Feiya. "Six people… my car can't fit all of us."

"Little Ya… maybe…" Song Yu looked at Jiang Feiya, his eyes hopeful.

But Jiang Feiya avoided his gaze, picking up a slice of hot pot meat. "I'm definitely riding with Youyu—I'm not taking a taxi with you."

Song Yu: "..."

Actually, Song Yu had planned to take the subway—he hadn't even considered a taxi.

After all, a taxi from Yinjiang District to the sports arena would cost at least several dozen yuan.

If Jiang Feiya were willing to go with him, he'd have taken the taxi without hesitation.

But going alone and paying for a taxi? He simply couldn't bear to spend those dozens of yuan.

"Then Little Ya, you go with them," Song Yu forced a weak smile, his voice tinged with bitterness. "I'll go on my own—we'll meet up there."

Li Luo watched Song Yu's pained expression and felt a bit speechless, but he didn't bother to intervene.

After finishing the hot pot, Xu Youyu got into her beloved BMW, had Li Luo sit in the front passenger seat, and the three roommates sit in the back, then drove toward the Huanglong Sports Center.

As for Song Yu, he had already slunk off to catch the subway.

…

Half an hour later, Xu Youyu parked her car in the Huanglong Sports Center's parking lot.

Li Luo pulled out his phone and sent a message to Xiao Wen, Yuan Wanqing's personal assistant, asking her to come out and meet them.

A few minutes later, a slender, tall, elegant figure emerged from the staff entrance and walked toward Li Luo and the others.

"Huh? Zhusheng?" Xu Youyu, seeing Yan Zhusheng, smiled warmly and stepped forward to link arms with her, introducing her to the roommates: "She's Li Luo's distant cousin."

At these words, Yan Zhusheng shot Xu Youyu a sidelong glance and pressed her lips together.

(End of chapter)